Question about raw chicken for dogs

[gritsar]

Currently we feed our GSD pup raw beef and cooked chicken. I don't know why I cook the chicken, I just do.

Mostly we buy thighs because they are inexpensive, but I also buy breasts when they are on sale.
I just got off the phone with Jax's breeder and he suggested that I stop cooking the chicken.
I forgot to ask him about the chicken bones (in the thighs). I know that cooked bones can splinter and be dangerous. What about the raw?
Do I de-bone the thighs before feeding or can he have the thighs, bones and all?
TIA

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

I know people who feed their dogs whole raw chicken, bones and all. Apparently the bones dont splinter like they do when they are cooked.

 

[Brindlebtch]

Yep, if you don't cook it they can eat the bones. But make sure he doesn't swallow the bones whole.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
You mean like he did the foot long piece of beef femur I gave him the other day? I swear it was there one minute, gone the next.

I'm waiting to see how he does with the venison shoulder he's been promised by one of the officers that hunts.
He's not feeling so good today. Has a bit of diarrhea. I think it's because DSD babysat him yesterday and she gave him some of everything she ate, including applesauce.

 

[Redyre Rotties]

I would sincerely urge you to get some digestive support for your guy if you are not already using some.

Everyone probably knows I love Nature's Farmacy.

IMO they have THE best digestive enhancer out there. I will not feed without it.

My dogs eat raw chicken almost daily. In 15+ years of raw feeding, I have probably fed literally TONS of leg quarters to my dogs. If you want to feed it raw, get the quarters. Available in 10 lb bags at a reasonable price from Walmart. Smaller pieces have more danger of the dog bolting them and choking.

I have never had a single issue from dogs eating either raw chicken or the bones that come with it.

Keep in mind when feeding raw that you want to stay as close to mother nature as possible, so no removal of bones, skin, etc. This is all part of the picture, and the dog needs it all. If you are not feeding any organ meat, you need to do that as well at least once per week.

Feeding meat without bone or bone substitute over a period of time can get you in trouble with the Calcium/Phosphorus ratio, and this is serious trouble.

NF also carries a product you can use with boneless meat so you don't have this problem.

http://www.naturesfarmacy.com

 

[gritsar]

Thank you very much for that link. I've been looking for something like that.
I just went and looked at the 10 lb. bag of chicken we bought and I was wrong; it is the leg quarters and not "thighs".
It'll save me work not to have to cook the chicken. The best part is I get to keep the huge $45 stock pot that my DH bought me just to cook the chicken in.

 

[thebritt]

I believe it's just the vertebraes (backbones) that should not be fed raw. Those projections can get cought and cause choking.

 

[Redyre Rotties]

No, there is no issue with feeding chicken backs/carcasses/spines. Dogs can eat any and all parts of chicken and bones if it is RAW.

Bones I do NOT use include turkey wings or legs, these bones are hollow weight bearing bones. Domestic turkeys have been bred to be so much larger and heavier than their original wild counterparts, these bones can splinter into razor sharp shards and can be very dangerous. I know of a dog who died of an intestinal perf from a turkey wing fragment.

Chicken, esp. that which you buy in the grocery, has no such issues. It is young birds that go to market, and the bones will not hurt a healthy dog.

 

[Country Living Farm]

what is the benn of feeding raw meat?

I have been throwing the dog the guts and stuff when I do a chicken and they love it. Now I am worried they will go after my chickens if they get out. I caught the dog catching and eating a squirll, armidillo (sp) and not to mention digging up a dead chicken froma week prior and eating that one too. I think I made a mistake.

 

[KDbeads]

Note from experience..... careful with the rib bones. A large enough mouth can get them lodged across the roof of the mouth between the back teeth and you end up with this a day later when you smell something odd, realize there's something stuck in her mouth and pull it out with a pair of pliers:
http://www.krausdesigns.com/images/Dogs/DSCF2803a.JPG
(Slightly disturbing pic, you've been warned)

It's not common for this to happen though, she never did it before or since, just a freak thing but do check their mouths every once in a while.